THE BOA CONSTRICTOR OF POLITICS. 159 



Y, ith this slight exception, the results would be quickly made 

 known and easily verified. If a member of Congress dies in office 

 his successor would be the first man left on the list from which he 

 was taken constituents would continue to be represent- 



ed by a candidate of their own choice. 



Under the list system the nominating power of the caucus would 

 be the same as with the cumulative or preferential plan, except 

 that its advocates have proposed a restriction which might v>rell be 

 incorporated with any method of election, even the boa-constrictor 

 one, namely, the condition that all the nominations should be re- 

 corded and published long enough beforehand, to give the citizens 

 time for independent action. There is some difference of opinion 

 as to how long the time should be, and how great should be the 

 possibility of offering and altering lists by individuals. It seems to 

 me that it would be best to provide that any list, signed by the 

 secretary of any convention of delegates or any mass-meeting, or 

 by one hundred voters individually, and sent at least thirty days 

 before the election, should be numbered, registered, and published 

 at once; that lists signed by any citizen and wholly made up of 

 names already presented should be received, numbered and pub- 

 lished as above, until fifteen days before the election; and that all 

 ballots should be counted according to the registered number; al- 

 terations being disregarded and unregistered lists treated as blanks. 

 I think such restrictions would simply exclude scattering votes and 

 chances of mistake in the count. But these details are of little im- 

 portance and may easily be adjusted. 



It will be seen that this method is peculiarly adopted to the choice 

 of members of Congress and presidential electors, while the cumu- 

 lative plan works best in districts where the number of candidates 

 and of votes is small. 



Still more complete representation of the whole people than at 

 present, would be attained, if either system were employed in elect- 

 ing committees who should take the place of the President's Calii- 

 net, and form, with him, a national council; whose unanimcus 

 vote should be necessar}' for the appointment of judges, ministeis 

 and heads of departments, while other high officials might be ap- 

 pointed by a two-thirds vote, which should also be requisite for 

 vetoes, suspension of the habpcts corpus act, etc. It would be easy 

 to change our civil service from a partisan to a national bulwark, if 



